The Man In Question
by VincentGrimm
Summary: A new group of pupils for Balamb Garden at the start of a new year. But then Balamb Garden is hit by a number of vicious deaths. Has a new pupil who displays extraordinary talent got something to do with it? Or is Balamb just going downhill?
1. Chapter 1

The group of new students entered the Garden and proceeded to the bottom of the staircase. At the top of the staircase he elevator slowly pinged to a stop, Squall and his friends exited and stood at the top of the staircase. This was the first set of students that Balamb Garden had received since defeating Ultimecia. They had prepared to fly around the planet picking up students from each continent before returning to Balamb where the Garden would remain for a term.

Squall had been nervous but he had then decided that if anything was going to go wrong then there was nothing he could do to change that fact and so had got into his clothes and gone down to meet his friends.

Squall and his friends now stood overlooking the students of many different ages.

"Alright" said Squall "Firstly; welcome to Balamb Garden, this will be your home for a few years to come for some of you it will be less time and for those of you who, under Quistis' guidance, are learning to become teachers will be with us a lot longer, secondly; on your computers there are rules, be sure you read them and follow them to the letter, thirdly; I would like to introduce you to some of your teachers, many of them you will recognise and some of them you won't but they will become familiar to you later on in time" Squall's friends all either waved or just nodded.

"Now you will all be split up" said Squall descending the stairs "Firstly split between girls and boys" the group did so wilfully

"Now split into age groups; six to ten on the left, ten to thirteen centre, thirteen to eighteen right and eighteen plus far right" said Squall. The people did so quickly and quietly.

"Alright then" said Squall "I should stop saying Alright" he told himself making some of the pupils laugh "Ages six to ten girls go with Selphie; she's the girl in the yellow dress" the young girls followed Selphie who was taking them to the quad.

"Six to ten guys; I want you to go with Zell" said Squall. Zell descended the stairs

"Alright?" he asked them "Come on we're going to the canteen" Zell went with the young boys who instantly began asking questions.

"Ten to thirteen girls" said Squall "Can you go with Xu" Xu indicated for them to come up the stairs and they all left in the elevator.

"Ten to thirteen year old boys" said Squall "You'll be introduced by Irvine" Irvine and the boys went towards the training area.

"Thirteen to eighteen girls" said Squall "I would like you to go with Rinoa" Rinoa walked down the stairs past Squall and went with the girls who began to giggle as they looked back at Squall and giggling.

"Thirteen to eighteen year old guys; you're with me today" said Squall. Some of the guys nodded others murmured in agreement.

"Eighteen plusses you are all with Quistis" said Squall finally. Quistis took her small group of students of both genders into the elevator and took them up to her classroom.

"Right then" said Squall rubbing his palms together "We're going up to control room where you'll get to see Xu driving for a bit, I still have a few finalities to…well finalise" Squall led them up to elevator which returned and then they all went up to the third floor. When they got there the young girls were already there admiring the view from the windows. Squall, by himself, took the secondary elevator to the control deck.

"You handled it well" said Xu who had just prepared the Garden for takeoff "Most people would have frozen"

"After what I have seen freezing is not a place you want to be" said Squall

"You never have explained what happened with Ultimecia" said Xu

"One of these days Xu" said Squall as he reached for the PA. Once he pressed the button a jingle spread across the PA in the Garden.

"Prepare for take-off" said Squall "Next stop is Balamb"

Slowly the Garden rose and began its journey to Balamb.


	2. Chapter 2

"We've arrived at Balamb" Squall informed the rest of the Garden "New pupils can either go explore the town or stay in the Garden, all your personal items are in your dormitories, good day"

Dominic moved his bag further up his shoulder before he started to walk towards the elevator which took him down to the bottom floor. He had been in Squall's group who had all been stood in the headmaster's old office as they travelled to Balamb. Dominic was seventeen and had long, dark brown hair. He had chosen to wear dark blue jeans and a shirt on the day he was admitted to Balamb Garden. His light blue eyes surveyed the control panel in the elevator one he had found the first floor button he pressed it with one of his long slender fingers. The elevator pinged shut and it began to move slowly downwards. Dominic disembarked the elevator on the first floor and walked around until he reached the dormitory. A quick check told him that his roommate, whoever that may be, was not there yet. Dominic went into his own room and closed the door which he then locked. Dominic unpacked his clothes and put them away in the cupboard. After that he sat down on his bed and looked around at his new room.

Dominic was an orphan but he knew who his parents were and he had met one of them, the other was deceased. He leant over and picked up a large black suitcase. Inside there was a long black coat which had a red interior and a long black sword which was in a black cloth sheath. Dominic got to his feet and put the coat on a hanger which he then hung on the back of his door. The black coat had an emblem carved into its lapel. Dominic eyed the symbol before picking up the sword and hanging it next to the coat.

Once he was settled Dominic left his room again and went to the training area. As he arrived some SeeD's were leaving.

"The place is closed sorry" said one of the SeeD's "We're just going for lunch then we'll be back, you can go in then"

"Why is it closed?" Dominic asked

"Some of the T-Rexaurs have had offspring" said another SeeD "So they are incredibly protective of their young, it's too dangerous for anyone to be in there when there are no SeeD patrolling"

"Okay then" said Dominic who went and sat on a nearby bench.

The SeeD nodded to him and walked away towards the canteen whilst talking about T-Rexaur. Once they were gone Dominic got to his feet and walked into the training area.

Squall watched from his office as a new pupil spoke to two SeeD's outside the training area. Squall knew about the T-Rexaur and so knew what they were talking about. Squall cursed as he saw the pupil walk into the training area unarmed. Squall turned and ran to the elevator.

Dominic clenched his fists before opening them again with a cracking noise. He walked through the steel doors into the training area. The water trickled by noisily which masked the other, more quiet, noises in the training area. Dominic walked calmly across the small bridges, waiting for an attack. Nothing seemed to occupy that area of the training ground and so Dominic put his hands in his pockets and continued to walk into the next area. Even in the next area there was nothing to fight and so Dominic climbed up onto a large tree that had fallen over. He thought that if he just waited maybe he would see something to fight. A crunching noise drew his attention but when he turned to look it was only Squall.

"You do know about the T-Rexaur, don't you?" Squall asked him. Dominic nodded

"Yes" he said "But I have beaten T-Rexaur before"

"What about one's with children?" Squall asked him.

"I never hung around to ask" Dominic said. Squall laughed slightly and climbed up to sit next to Dominic

"Good answer" Squall said "So who are you?"

"Dominic" said Dominic shaking Squall's gloved hand "I'm guessing you're not going to tell me off?"

"Right" said Squall

"Why not?" Dominic asked "I thought Garden was admired for its discipline routines"

"Galbadia Garden maybe" said Squall "But you remind me a little of me, I used to think I could defeat anything"

"What about now?" Dominic asked

"I don't know" said Squall "Come on, let's get you out of here until the SeeD come back"

The two of them dropped down and began to walk when the log behind them exploded. Squall whirled around and withdrew his gun blade. A T-Rexaur straightened up; it was much bigger than any dinosaur Squall had faced before.

"Damn" said Squall "You got a weapon?"

"Just my fists" said Dominic raising his arms for combat.

"No offence but T-Rexaur are pretty durable" said Squall "Just stay back and let me deal with it"

"Them" said Dominic

"What?" Squall asked turning to face Dominic.

"Them" said Dominic "There's two" he pointed to the second, massive, dinosaur who was stomping towards them. The first one attacked and tried swiping Squall and Dominic. Squall tried to block but he was too slow; thankfully Dominic was not. The dinosaur's massive tail hit a powerful magic barrier which startled Squall as the lightning crackled loudly. The dinosaurs stomped around them and every now and then a T-Rexaur would charge at the barrier but would get knocked backwards by the energy. The two massive fiends seemed to give up and walked away. Cautiously Dominic lowered the barrier.

"Come on" said Squall dragging Dominic by the sleeve towards the clear exit. Far behind them the T-Rexaurs watched them leave.

Squall and Dominic walked down the path into the Garden silently

"That was impressive magic back there" said Squall to Dominic "A lot more powerful than anything I've seen from someone your age"

"It wasn't a very good barrier, it had its flaws" admitted Dominic

"It survived four direct attacks from an angry T-Rexaur, a usual barrier would have folded after the first" said Squall "You are a whole different league from your classmates"

"Maybe" said Dominic "But right now I don't want to be special I just want to get along"

"Alright" said Squall "I'll keep this incident between me and my close friends; you sure you don't want special lessons from a friend of mine? I'm sure she would be very happy to help"

"No" said Dominic "Maybe if I get into SeeD"

"Okay then" said Squall "See you tomorrow"

Squall and Dominic went their separate ways. Squall was wondering how a young man could have so much power. Dominic on the other hand was wondering if Squall really would keep it between him and his close friends.


	3. Chapter 3

Dominic awoke in his bed and he yawned and stretched. He did not remember coming to bed, that last thing he remembered was walking through the gates of the training ground early in the morning; he had gone back to get some training in before the day began. Dominic rolled out of bed and grabbed his clothes. He went into the bathroom and got changed whilst whistling; something he never did. He smiled as he left his room for his first lesson. He checked his timetable and it showed that his first lesson was fiend studies with Quistis Trepe. He jumped a barrier and ran up the stairs before pirouetting and pushing the second floor button.

"Wait!" Selphie shouted as she ran up the stairs. Dominic's hand flew out and he caught the door.

"Thank you" said Selphie gasping for breath

"Its fine" said Dominic smiling broadly as he looked through the window

"Someone's in a very good mood" said Selphie looking up at him

"I guess we both are" said Dominic with a smile "You seem in a good mood also"

The door pinged open and Dominic left the elevator alone while Selphie travelled up to the top floor. Dominic jogged down the hall and around the corner until he reached his classroom. Already many pupils were gathered outside in silence.

"Hello" he said brightly. Someone returned the gesture while others ignored him completely.

"Hi" said one girl who looked somewhat like Selphie except her hair was blonde and slightly longer.

"Hi" said Dominic standing next to her in the queue.

"Who're you?" she asked

"Dominic" he said shaking her hand

"Jessie" she said with a smile as she shook his hand.

"Alright class, you may come inside" said Quistis who had just come out of her classroom. The students filed in and Dominic sat next to Jessie who had offered the empty seat next to hers.

"Okay then class, my name is Quistis Trepe and I will be your teacher in Fiend Studies" said Quistis who took her seat at the front of her class. Quistis began with the simple fiends such as bats and bombs, as she said their names the pictures appeared on their computer screens.

A beep attracted their attention from the door. The door hissed open and Squall came inside. He looked flushed and worried. He crossed to Quistis' desk and whispered something in her ear. As the words sunk in Quistis face fell and she paled.

"Who was it?" Quistis asked Squall

"It was one of the CC club " said Squall "His parents are on their way"

"Was it the T-Rexaur?" Quistis asked

"The police are saying so but the marks are wrong" said Squall "So as of today the Training Grounds are out of bounds; Zell, Irvine and myself are going in there later to see if there is anything that shouldn't be in there" Squall looked up and spotted Dominic

"That includes you" he said to Dominic "The rules in place now are significant to your life, if you break them, if anyone breaks them, it's an instant expulsion"

"What happened?" Jessie asked

"Today a student was killed in the training ground" Squall said to the classroom "He was stabbed and slashed to death by something unknown, so under no circumstances is anyone to go into the training grounds"

"What if it escapes?" a girl asked rather hysterically

"It won't" said Squall "The Garden Faculty have blocked off the entire area and only I and a few others can get in there"

"What about the funeral?" Quistis asked

"That's up to the parents" said Squall "But we are going to have a memorial for him"

"When?" Quistis asked

"We don't know yet" said Squall "First we want to sort everything out with his parents"

Squall decided that lessons were postponed for the day and all the pupils were told to keep away from the training area. Dominic and Jessie were stood on the balcony looking down at the entrance to the training area.

"I was there this morning" said Dominic "There was _nothing_ out of the ordinary there"

"You went in there without protection?" Jessie said looking up at him

"I don't understand" said Dominic "If something had been wrong I would have seen it, if he was in there I would have known"

"Maybe he went there after you left" said Jessie

"Maybe" said Dominic "I'd hate to find out that I could have saved him"

"Don't do this" said Jessie "He was killed by something in the Training Ground, it's unfortunate but it happens"

"Yeah" said Dominic "I guess so"

"Let's get out of here" said Jessie "The whole place feels wrong today"

"Where do you want to go?" Dominic asked

"The beach" she said "You go get your swimming stuff and I'll go get mine, I have never been swimming in the ocean"

"Alright then" said Dominic.

The two of them retrieved their swimwear and towels and proceeded down to the docks in Balamb.


	4. Chapter 4

The manager of the hotel in Balamb let Dominic and Jessie borrow separate rooms for fifteen minutes so that they could get into their swimwear separately. Fifteen minutes later Dominic walked out to meet Jessie who was already on the beachfront in her white bikini. The seventeen year old girl from Fisherman's Horizon was sat with her feet in the crystal waters.

"You took your time" she said looking up at him as he walked over

"Sorry" he said sitting down next to her "It's not my fault you get dressed so fast"

"So it's my fault is it?" she asked

"Yeah" he said simply. Jessica pushed him and Dominic plunged into the waters of the harbour. Dominic surfaced spluttering; he hadn't expected that. Jessie laughed as she got to her feet and dived into the water. Jessica surfaced not too far from Dominic

"So where are you from?" she asked him as she tread water

"I'm from Dollet" he said "What about you?"

"F.H" she said

"I've never been there" he said "What's it like?"

"Quiet I guess" she said "It's because I lived there that I love to swim" Jessie swam away to the edge of the port and climbed out only to dive back in. Jessie surfaced again and swam back over to Dominic

"So if you lived in F.H how did you get to Garden?" he asked

"They stopped for supplies" said Jessie "So I asked Squall who then asked my parents"

"I'm guessing they said yes" said Dominic

"Of course they did" said Jessie "How else would I be here?"

"A stowaway" he said laughing. Jessie splashed water at him before swimming away again.

"Hey! You two!" a sailor shouted from the edge of the water "You're not meant to be in there, there are water fiends you know!"

"We'll take our chances" said Dominic who swam after Jessie.

"Wait!" he called after them but they had swum out of ear shot. Jessie and Dominic were swimming out towards the ocean.

"Hang on a second" said Dominic who had finally caught up with Jessie

"Yes?" she asked as she stopped and began to tread water

"Where exactly are you going?" he asked

"Here" she said

"Why here?" Dominic asked

"Why not?" she asked him with a smile.

"Because it's here" said Dominic

"That's not a very good reason" said Jessie with a smile.

"But it _is_ a reason" said Dominic

"Fine" she said with a smile.

From where they were treading water Dominic could see all the way down the coast towards the Garden which was easily visible from anywhere in Balamb.

"Do you know what's in that cavern?" Jessie asked Dominic. Dominic looked where she was pointing; a large cavern just past the Garden.

"No" he said "We should go check it out sometime"

"Sounds like fun" she said "But first let's get back to the port"

Jessie dived beneath the waves and began to swim towards the port quickly. Dominic smiled and swam after her hoping to get to the port before she did. Unfortunately Jessie reached the stone wall of the port before he did.

"Too slow Dominic" she said climbing out. The two of them went back up to the hotel where they went into their separate rooms and got dry and changed. Once they had both got changed they began their walk back to the Garden so that they could leave their bags and go explore the cavern.

"What do you think is in there?" she asked

"Who knows?" he said "It could be just about anything"

"Oh come on" she said "Guess! What do you _think_ it is?"

"Maybe it's full of fiends or something" said Dominic looking at its entrance in the distance as they entered the grounds of the Garden.

As they walked around the central pillar of the Garden Squall and the others were just leaving the Training Ground.

"I wonder what they found" said Dominic to Jessie. Jessie looked over

"Go ask" she said "Squall seems to like you"

"No he doesn't" said Dominic with a laugh "He was just making sure I don't break the rules again and go into the Training Ground when I'm not meant to"

"Right" she said "So are we still going to that cavern?"

"Yes" said Dominic "If you're still interested to find out what's inside it"

"I am" she said

"So put our bags away then meet back here in five minutes?" he asked.

"Okay" she said and walked towards a staircase that led to the second floor of dormitories. Dominic quickly went to his room and dumped his bag there before leaving again and walking back to his room. When Dominic arrived back at the entrance to the dormitories he took a seat on the wall facing the crystal blue waters that decorated the Garden. He looked up in the direction of the Garden and saw that the Garden faculty had gone; _probably gone to get supplies or something_ thought Dominic. In the back of his mind a feeling was stirring; a feeling that was telling him to go take a look. Dominic got to his feet and walked towards the Training area.

"Sorry I'm late" said Jessie. Dominic turned around

"It's alright" he said "Ready to go check out the cavern?"

"Yep" she said and they both walked towards the entrance of the Garden. Dominic took one look back at the Training Area before they left that area and began their walk across the plains.


	5. Chapter 5

"Wow, it's boiling!" said Jessie as they entered the cavern.

"Lava" said Dominic "No doubt there's a lot of fiends in here, did you bring whatever weapon you use?"

"Yes" she said pulling out a large chrome handgun from the bag she was carrying

"Alright then" he said walking onwards "Bizarre weapon, I thought you'd have something like a whip"

"I'm not that kind of girl" she said winking at him. Dominic laughed

"Does that mean Quistis is?" he thought aloud.

"Gross!" said Jessie laughing with Dominic. The two of them continued onwards through the cavern in silence.

"Pretty cool cavern" she said "As far as caverns go"

"How many have you been in?" Dominic asked

"Not many" she said "I used to go climbing with my dad"

"Interesting" said Dominic "Where's you go?"

"We went to quite a few places such as Trabia and the snowy places" said Jessie

"Sounds nice" he said

"It was" she said. They continued to walk through the cavern; the only sound that broke their silence was the sloshing of the lava and the gushing noise of steam.

"Where are all the fiends?" she thought aloud

"I have no idea" said Dominic "It was the same in the Garden; no fiends ever!"

"Maybe you scare them" she said sarcastically. Dominic laughed

"Nah, it's you it is" he said "You're a very scary person"

"Yeah right" Jessie said with a laugh.

The two students continued their walk until they reached a large pool of lava.

"I guess this is the end of the line" said Dominic walking around the pool. Jessie whirled around when she heard the sound of stone cracking underfoot. Dominic heard it also and looked up. Jessica ran around so that she was on the other side of the pool with Dominic.

"Who's there?" Dominic called into the darkness of the cavern. No one replied to his question. Dominic clenched his fist and he felt the pins and needles running up his spine as he prepared to block anything that was about to be fired at them. Next to him Jessie was stood pointing her pistol at the darkness but he could see that she was shaking; _no use in a fight then _he mused. They did not have to wait long until a large dragon appeared through the smoke.

"I didn't know they had these around here!" she said stepping back.

"They don't" said Dominic who had raised his right hand "I don't think a single red dragon has ever been seen in this area" the dragon eyed them suspiciously.

"What if it attacks?" Jessie asked looking up at Dominic who was taller than her.

"Being attacked isn't the problem" said Dominic "Fighting back is"

"What do you mean?" she asked. The dragon had begun to circle the pit slowly and the two teenagers walked around the opposite way.

"You're gun won't do much good and if I start attacking it I might bring down the entire cave" said Dominic.

"We could run" she guessed.

"It's always an idea" he said. The dragon stopped and began to walk back the same way it had come. The dragon stopped at the path that led to the entrance.

"Or maybe not" Dominic said. The dragon shook its head from side to side before turning and walking away through the smoke. Dominic and Jessie stood there in confusion

"What the hell?" Dominic said aloud "It could have killed us, why didn't it?"

"Who cares?" Jessie asked "Let's just get out of here, please"

"Alright" said Dominic "Just stay behind me" he ordered as they both began to walk towards the entrance. They walked slowly and Dominic's hand was constantly up; _we don't want to get ambushed_ he told himself. They managed to make it to the entrance without getting attacked but also without sighting the dragon.

"Where did it go?" Jessie asked Dominic.

"I don't care where it went" he said "I'm still trying to figure out where it came from and why it just left when it had the chance to kill us"

"Do you think it could have killed that kid?" she asked as they ran back to the Garden.

"I don't know" said Dominic "We'll just tell Squall what just happened and then he'll be able to figure it out"

"You think so?" she asked

"I'll bet my life on it" said Dominic as they ran through the Garden and took the elevator to Squall's office.


	6. Chapter 6

Squall listened to the entire episode in silence. Once Dominic and Jessica finished explaining Squall rubbed his head thoughtfully for a few seconds.

"So it just turned around and left the two of you?" he asked.

"Yes" said Dominic "I couldn't understand it either"

"The dragon could have done what I saw" said Squall "But it would have left much bigger injuries"

"So what happens now?" Dominic asked

"Firstly I'm going to get some Garden Faculty to search the area for this dragon; we need to make sure it doesn't hurt anyone" said Squall "And you two need to find something more constructive to do than hunt around; especially you Dominic, no more hunting down monsters"

"Yes, sir" said Dominic nodding.

"Alright, you can leave" said Squall. Dominic and Jessie both thanked him for his time before leaving the office and taking the elevator down to the first floor and they both went to Dominic's room.

Dominic sat on his desk while Jessie lounged on his bed

"So what do we do now?" Jessie asked

"I don't know" said Dominic. Dominic walked over and lay on his bed next to Jessie and they both lay there looking up at his ceiling.

"We could go for another walk" said Jessie

"And run into more monsters?" he said looking sideways at her "I'd rather not"

"We could go find that dragon" she said with a smile as she looked over at him.

"No" said Dominic

"Oh come on" she said "Imagine what people will say when they hear that _we_ killed a dragon"

"Probably; you're expelled" said Dominic

"You're no fun" she said

"I'd rather be no fun that expelled" he said.

"Have you got a GF?" she asked him

"Guardian Force or girlfriend?" he asked

"Both" she said

"Neither" said Dominic

"Do you want to go try and catch a GF?" she asked

"I doubt the other girls in the garden will enjoy being lassoed" said Dominic. Jessie laughed as did Dominic.

"Not those GF's you idiot" she said "Apparently Squall and his friends set the GF's free, except for Eden, when they came back to Garden so that other SeeD's could capture them"

"And?" Dominic asked

"Come on" she said "No one in our year has a GF; we could be the first to capture one"

"Or be killed by one" said Dominic

"Are you always this pessimistic?" she asked

"Yes" he said but then smiled.

"You are so annoying" she said elbowing him hard in the ribs. Dominic laughed and then sat up

"We could go for a walk outside" he said "I'm not saying we're necessarily looking for something"

"Finally" said Jessie getting to her feet and picking up her bag. Dominic got to his feet also

"So where to?" he asked

"Just outside" she said opening the door "Dominic, why don't you take this sword with you?"

"I never use it" he said "I was never very good"

"And you don't where the coat either" she said

"I don't think it suits me" he said.

"Okay then" she said. Jessie left first and then Dominic. Before he had left Dominic had looked at the coat and sword momentarily; he had more important reasons for not using the sword or wearing the coat but those were his reasons alone.

The two of them stepped out, again, into the bright sunlight of the day. Already the Garden Faculty were moving out towards the cavern and so Jessie and Dominic were stuck.

"I thought Squall told you two to stop hunting?" Zell said. Dominic and Jessie looked to their left and saw Zell who was sat on a wall.

"We're not hunting" said Jessie

"We are walking" said Dominic nodding.

"Right" said Zell "Of course you are" he said getting of the wall and walking over to them "I never really had much regard for rules when I was learning here either"

"We're not breaking any rules" said Dominic

"Yeah right" said Zell who put his hands behind his back "So what you really up to?"

"Looking for that Dragon" admitted Dominic. Zell smiled

"I guess I can help there" said Zell "It's been too long since I had a decent brawl"

"What about Squall?" Jessie asked

"Exactly" said Zell "What about him?"

"Where should we start?" Dominic asked

"Wanna try the trees over there?" Zell thought.

"Better than nowhere" said Dominic. The three of them set off down the grassy plain towards the large clump of trees.

The three of them pushed their way through the thick branches that littered the ground and grew from awkward places on the trees.

"So tell me how ya found this dragon" said Zell "Squall jus said 'they found ruby dragon blah di blah' and he kinda carried on for a while"

"We were in the Cavern" said Dominic "And it must have come in behind us, it sort of looked at us for a bit then walked away"

"Did ya see Ifrit?" Zell asked

"Who?" Jessie asked

"Ifrit; the GF who lives in the cavern" said Zell

"Nah, no GF" said Dominic

"That's weird, GF's tend to attack anyone who goes into their place" said Zell "You two have a weird luck"

"Apparently" said Dominic. Suddenly a crashing noise emanated from their far right.

"Sounds like we found our dragon" said Zell crouching slightly as he moved through the tree's followed by the other two. Again Dominic charged his magical powers; ready for the fray. The three of them crouched near the edge of a circle of grassland that had been cleared of trees directly in the centre of the forest. The Dragon was sat in the centre its paw was flattening a fiend which was ripped in half and eaten. The dragon swung its great tail which took out another group of trees.

"What do we do?" Jessie whispered to Zell who shrugged

"Attack it" said Zell. Jessie drew her silver pistol again and fired at the dragon's hide. The flash and the bang startled all three of them and the bullet caused no visible damage. The dragon raised its head and turned around to face them.

"We need to get into the circle of trees" said Zell it will be very difficult to fight here"

"What if we get fried?" Jessie asked as the dragon took a deep breath and fired a spray of flames towards them. Dominic raised his hand and the flames hit a barrier.

"Nice one" said Zell who stepped into the empty grassland. A gold circle of energy appeared in front of them. The dragon fired its flames again but this time the flames were absorbed by the ring of energy.

"Carry on firing at it" said Dominic "It won't be able to get through the barrier" Jessie raised her pistol and continued to fire. The bullets passed through the barrier and hit the dragon but caused no damage at all.

"Its bullet-proof!" said Jessie lowering her pistol.

"You got any offensive magic?" Zell asked

"Yes" said Dominic "I have a good one" he said with a smile "The dragon has to keep attacking though" Suddenly the dragon pulled its head back and brought it forwards and tried hitting them with a cloud of gold mist. The mist was pulled into the barrier yet again. The dragon tried hitting the barrier but the kinetic energy was absorbed. The disk of energy changed colour signalling to Dominic that it was fully charged. Dominic brought his hand back and the barrier vanished. The dragon ran forwards and brought its massive clawed foot down on them. A white flash emanated from Dominic's hand as he hit the dragon's foot with his right hand. The dragon was sent crashing back through the trees in a roaring squeal of pain. They watched as the dragon tried getting back to its feet but it died before it could.

"That was impressive" said Zell "What the hell was that?"

"Royal Guard" said Dominic blowing the smoke that now surrounded his hand "A move given to me by my father"

"It was impressive" said Jessie "You're like better than everyone in our year with that move"

"I don't usually it usually" said Dominic "It makes me feel funny"

"What do you mean?" Zell asked

"I feel like I want to fight more" said Dominic "Like I want to defeat more fiends"

"That's just because of the fight" said Squall walking through the tree's "It's the excitement from the battle"

"Squall" said Zell surprised "We though we'd come see if it was in here"

"I'm not angry" Squall reassured him "At least they had adequate protection"

"Yeah" said Jessie "We killed the dragon!"

"I noticed" said Squall looking at its body which was wedged between a few trees.

"Did you see his power?" Zell asked Squall "He should be getting lessons from Edea"

"I already asked him; have you changed your mind?" Squall asked him

"No" said Dominic "I don't want any special treatment just because I'm powerful"

"You should at least speak to her when she comes to the Garden next" said Zell "She'd give you some tips; not that ya really need them"

"No" said Dominic.

"Alright" said Squall "Let's get out of here, the Faculty will come and dispose of the body"

Jessie and Dominic returned to their rooms to get ready for the next day while Squall called a meeting in his office for him and his friends.

"What's this all about?" Selphie asked as she sat on the side of Squall's desk

"It's about one of our students" said Squall "His name's Dominic and he's just joined"

"He's pretty darn powerful" said Zell "Saw it with my own eyes today"

"How powerful?" Quistis asked

"The other day he blocked a direct hit from a T-Rexaur before I had even moved and today he killed a ruby dragon with a single strike" said Squall. Irvine whistled

"Pretty powerful for someone who's just joined; how old is he?" Irvine asked

"Seventeen" said Squall. Quistis raised her eyebrows

"Imagine what he could do when he gets to our age" said Quistis

"I'd rather not" said Squall "He doesn't really abide by the rules of the Garden and I can't expel him as he is a very promising student and I think he knows it"

"So what do you want us to do?" Quistis asked

"Make sure he doesn't break the rules" said Squall. From his desk he took pictures of Dominic that were taken when the students first entered the Garden.

"This is him" said Squall.

"He looks strangely familiar" said Irvine looking at the picture "Like someone we've met before"

"I know" said Squall "I haven't been able to figure it out either, he's an orphan"

"So we have no idea of who his parents were?" said Selphie

"He mentioned his father when we were in the forest" said Zell "Right after he blasted the dragon, he said 'I got it from my father' so I guess he knows who his parents were"

"Just be careful guys" said Squall as they got up to leave the room.


	7. Chapter 7

The next day another body was found in the Training Ground; this one belonged to a young girl that had been in the Garden for only a year.

"Another one" said Squall as he left the training ground "Same death pattern again"

"What do we know?" Doctor Kadowaki asked

"Nothing" said Squall "Except they were deep, frantic slices that killed her"

"Anything eaten?" the doctor asked

"No, this wasn't to eat it looks like she was killed for sport" said Squall sitting down on a bench

"So there's something in there killing for sport?" said Kadowaki "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know" said Squall "I don't even know what's killing them"

"You need to come to a decision soon, Squall" said Kadowaki "Otherwise parents are going to start taking their kids away from Garden"

"Has anything like this ever happened before?" Squall asked.

"Not that I know of" said Kadowaki "We rarely get deaths, the only time it is likely to happen is in SeeD examinations"

"So there have been no deaths in the past?" Squall said

"There have been deaths in the past but they have always been months if not years apart" said Kadowaki "Most of the time they have been from fiends in the Garden or in the cavern"

"Right" said Squall as they got into the elevator. The two of them went up to Squall's office then into the control room. Squall activated the PA

"This is Squall; we are about to head for the Trabia Cenotaph, while we are travelling all students must remain in their dormitories, all Garden faculty will patrol the first floor, thank you" Squall disconnected the microphone and turned to Xu.

"The Trabia Cenotaph please, Xu" said Squall.

"Why are we going there?" Kadowaki asked as the Garden began its journey

"They have some good trackers; hopefully they will be able to track down whatever is doing this and kill it" said Squall

"What if it's only in Balamb?" Xu asked as she guided the Garden past Balamb and into the ocean smoothly.

"Then we know for a fact that it's only in Balamb" said Squall "We can then bring back a few of them and they can find out exactly where it is"

"Good plan, Squall" said Kadowaki "I knew you would think of something"

"I need to go and talk to someone" said Squall leaving the room and taking the elevator down to the first floor.

Jessie was lying on Dominic's bed again, as was Dominic, when the announcement was broadcast.

"What's a Cenotaph?" Jessie asked

"It means memorial" said Dominic who had his eyes closed and was drifting in his thoughts.

"The Trabia Memorial" said Jessie

"Yes" said Dominic "For their Garden which was destroyed" Dominic opened his eyes "Aren't you meant to be going back to your dormitory?"

"Squall said that we have to remain in our dormitories; I was in this one when he made the announcement" said Jessie

"Alright then" said Dominic who closed his eyes again.

"Can I ask you something?" Jessie asked Dominic

"Of course" said Dominic

"What are your parents like?" she asked him. For a second Jessie saw a line crease his brow as though he was unhappy of thinking about it.

"They're dead" said Dominic "I got a lot in the will from my mother which was how I managed to survive this long"

"What about your father?" Jessie asked. Dominic smiled slightly

"That's a completely different story; he's not dead but he isn't really" Dominic stopped as he thought about how he could describe his father without giving away who he was.

"He's just different" said Dominic in the end.

"Okay then" said Jessie. Jessie rolled onto her front and watched Dominic who just lay there with his eyes closed. Jessie reached out and ran her finger over one of his shallow cheekbones.

"Having fun?" he asked her

"Yeah" she said "Can I get a pen and outline your cheekbones?"

"No you cannot" said Dominic laughing.

"Aw come on" she said

"No" he said laughing as he sat up and sat with his back against the wall.

"You're no fun" she said yet again.

"So you keep telling me" said Dominic

"I have to!" she said "To try to get you to have more fun!"

"I'll think about it" he said.

"God" she said lying face down. Dominic laughed again. Someone knocked on Dominic's door. Jessie rolled over and looked at the door

"I thought Squall told everyone to go back to their rooms?" said Jessie. Dominic got to his feet

"Apparently someone isn't listening" said Dominic and opened the door.

"Hello, Dominic" said Squall "Can we take a walk?" Squall then saw Jessie who had sat up when she saw Squall.

"You are meant to be in your room" said Squall

"I was here when you told us to stay in our dormitories" said Jessie "I thought you meant dormitories that we're in"

"Of course you did" said Squall "So will you come walk with me?" he asked Dominic. Dominic nodded

"Yes sir" said Dominic. Once Jessie had left for her own room and Dominic had locked up he and Squall began their walk. Quickly Dominic noticed that they were headed for the Training Ground.

"How good is your knowledge of fiends?" Squall asked Dominic.

"It's pretty good" said Dominic

"How are you with blood?" Squall asked

"Alright, why?" Dominic asked

"I'm taking you to see one of the bodies" said Squall "I want to see if you can identify the attack pattern"

"Isn't there someone here who can do that?" Dominic asked

"Yes" said Squall "Quistis and some others have already tried to identify it but none of us were able to, I want to know if you might know of anything"

"Why me?" Dominic asked

"You have a good knowledge of fiends, apparently, and you're young so you have imagination and are willing to mention fiends that maybe aren't living in the Balamb area" said Squall

"So you think someone could have brought the creature into Balamb?" Dominic said.

"Pretty much" said Squall "Or maybe it was forced to live here"

Squall and Dominic walked past many Garden faculties until they reached the doors into the Training Ground. The female's body had been left where it was, by the pond, so that examiners could come and see if there was any sign of the fiend, but none had been found. Dominic saw the white tarpaulin that had been draped over the body.

"Are you ready?" Squall asked as he took the corner of the tarpaulin

"No" said Dominic but Squall pulled it back anyway. Firstly Dominic was hit by the smell of rotting meat. He coughed and shook his head before looking down at the mutilated body. Dominic had seen animals that had been gorged before but this young girl had been killed, not gorged, by the look of her. Dominic straightened up.

"What do you think?" Squall asked. Dominic looked up at the trees above them.

"Let me go check something" said Dominic who ran over to one of the trees that stood over looking the body and began to climb it. A minute later Dominic was shimmying across a branch. In the branch there were some large indents as though something with long claws had been crouched there. Dominic recognised the marks instantly. He walked back along the branch and climbed back down.

"There are marks in the tree" said Dominic "I'd say that you are looking for something big and bat-like"

"I can't think of anything like that" said Squall.

"Me neither" lied Dominic "But I'm guessing that's what you are looking for"

"None of the examiners thought anything like that" said Squall

"Then they must be bad examiners" said Dominic

"Okay then" said Squall "I'll take you back to your dormitory then I'll go and tell my friends what you have told me, we should be in Trabia in a bit anyhow"

Squall walked Dominic all the way back to his door then left. Dominic went into his room and quickly fished out his black duffle bag from under his bed. There was a small sheet of metal at the bottom of his bag and beneath it was a large black book. Dominic fished the book out of his bag and sat at his desk with it. This book was one of the only physical things he got from his father; other than his physical build. The book was old and it told of monsters and fiends even older. A few of the fiends from the book had become Guardian Forces but there were still the many other beings that had merely fallen into legend. The pages flashed by as Dominic flicked through the book quickly. Suddenly he stopped on a page that showed a large devil, drawn by an ancient fiend hunter, and next to it was a descriptive paragraph, again handwritten. The pages were very old but they were perfectly intact and so Dominic did not have to ludicrously careful while holding the book. Dominic had already read that one page many times before but he wanted to read it again; in case he had ever missed something before.


	8. Chapter 8

Squall sat in his office and told his friends what Dominic had figured out about the thing that had killed the two pupils.

"He's pretty good" said Irvine

"He should be with the eighteen plusses" said Quistis "He could be an instructor by next year"

"I doubt he'd want that" said Squall "He doesn't want any special attention"

"I had a lesson with him when the first body was found; he seemed so normal" said Quistis "I didn't know that he knew so much about fiends"

"He's a textbook candidate for SeeD" said Squall "But I don't know if he's here to join SeeD or to become a teacher or what"


	9. Chapter 9

They had arrived swiftly and now Edea, Squall and Jessie were stood facing Dominic's Barrier. Irvine had tried removing Jessie by force but after receiving a painful groin-related injury he had decided not to try again. Dr. Kadowaki had stitched Jessie's wound and instantly the young girl had ran all the way back down to the Training Area. Edea was stood with her hand on the barrier. Today she wore a long red dress that made her look incredibly beautiful; like Squall and the others remembered her from when she was their matron. From where they were stood they could see Dominic through his secondary protective bubble. The teenager was unconscious on the floor near the boulder they had been sat on. He was flat on his back and his hands were clasping one another on his chest. Once Edea had entered the room a three meter wide barrier had popped up around Dominic; it had sensed Edea's power. Slowly Edea lowered her hand

"What do you make of it?" Squall asked

"It's a very powerful barrier" said Edea "Who was here when it happened?" Jessie raised her hand

"Me, miss" said Jessie. Jessie knew about Edea and that she had been a sorceress and so thought highly of her.

"Do you know if anything happened before hand?" Edea asked her softly

"It was when Squall went to get that crystal" said Jessie. Squall remembered the crystal that he had in his pocket and so fished it out. The crystal was blood red and pendulum shaped and it hung on a cord of gold thread from its thickest end.

"A summoning crystal" said Edea examining it "These were used to summon Guardian Forces, this was before they learnt about junctioning"

"So there is a GF in this?" Squall asked looking at it

"No" said Edea "Who knows how long it has been in that pool?" the woman lifted the crystal and examined it "It would have left aeons ago" Edea looked at Dominic then back at the crystal.

"Step back please Squall and you miss" said Edea holding the crystal in her palm like a knife. Squall and Jessie took two steps back.

"No" said Edea "Go to the entrance, I don't know what is going to happen" Squall and Jessie complied. They moved very far back but not too far; they wanted to make sure Edea was okay and, in Jessie's case, Dominic.

Edea pulled her arm far back and stabbed the barrier with the crystal. Squall and everyone else in the building heard a deep explosion which instantly changed into a deafening bang. A white flash filled the room and many items that were not bolted down were sent crashing into walls. Squall and Jessie looked up to see Edea gone. At first Squall thought the worst but then saw that Edea was stood inside the newly widened barrier. Edea walked forwards cautiously and put her hand on Dominic's secondary barrier. Edea did nothing but stay silent as she watched him.

"What is going on?" Cid asked as he rushed over

"I don't know" said Squall. Everyone present watched as Edea turned around and walked out of the barrier before walking over to them.

"Everything is alright" she said "He's in a sort of magic induced slumber; in a few hours he will be fine" Edea handed Jessie the summoning crystal

"When he awakes, give him this" Edea said "Now can you leave Squall? Let Cid and I retire in peace"

"Yes, matron" said Squall bowing.

Edea and Cid left the Garden and it began its journey back towards Balamb. Edea and Cid walked through the door into their newly built house when Edea collapsed.

"Edea" said Cid kneeling beside her. Edea shook her head.

"Where are they?" she asked

"They've just left" said Cid confused "What's wrong?"

"He was in control" she said wiping tears from her eyes "He's got so much darkness inside him; we have to get to them before he wakes up"

Dominic's eyes snapped open; his pupils were wide and his magic was welled up inside him ready to burst.


	10. Chapter 10

Cid tried frantically to call Squall back but all he got was static. Edea was stood on the balcony watching the Garden make its way through the ocean. A red flash lit up the skyline startling Edea.

"He's awake!" she said "We _have_ to get there" Cid called the white SeeD and told them to come and get them.

Squall lay on his floor gasping in pain; he was fighting Dominic.

Jessie was sat in her dormitory with her hands over her ears, crying, trying to drown out the screams of the people who had tried stopping Dominic.

Rinoa lay unconscious in the elevator as she had tried to escape from Dominic.

Quistis lay at the bottom of the stairs bleeding heavily; she had tried to fight Dominic.

Irvine was lying in a pool of his blood; he had tried protecting Selphie from Dominic.

Selphie was huddled in a corner; Dominic had passed her by.

Zell was trying to save the life of Xu who had been one of the first to be attacked by Dominic.

The white SeeD ship went speeding after the Garden which was moving faster than it ever had. Dominic was the pilot yet he was not driving; the Garden had been told where to go and it _would_ obey.

"What's going on?" a white SeeD asked

"There is a man aboard that Garden; he is very powerful and so I will be the only one boarding" said Edea.

"Edea!" said Cid "Don't be foolish"

"I'm not" she said to her husband "He will listen to me"

"How do you know that?" he asked

"Because I know his story" said Edea "I know what has happened to him in the past"

"Where should we stop?" the white SeeD asked

"Here is fine" said Edea who then vanished.

"Edea!" Cid said in surprise.

Edea materialised in Dominic's room. At first she had to steel herself against what was to come next; the endless pile of bodies and the flowing rivers of blood. So many students had been cut down by the _thing_ that moved in Dominic's image.

Edea left the room and tried to ignore the bodies that littered the floor or the screams of anguish from those that had lived. Dominic had let almost all of them live only the ones who had got up again and tried to fight on had been killed. Edea was halfway around the Garden when she saw Zell and Xu.

"Zell!" she said crouching next to Xu. Instantly she used her cure magic on Xu.

"Dominic has gone insane!" said Zell

"It's not him in control" said Edea "It's his father"

"Who?" Zell asked.

"Diablos" said Edea. Zell froze

"Did you just say Diablos?" Zell asked "As in the GF?"

"Yes" said Edea "He's a rare creation; his mother loved Diablos when he was human; before he became a GF"

"So how do we beat him?" Zell asked

"I don't know" said Edea

"You'll have to think fast" said Zell "Here he comes"

The elevator pinged loudly and Dominic stepped out. He was wearing the black coat and wielded the sword that had also belonged to his father. Edea could see the dual image of Dominic. Every time he moved there would be a second delay and the second version of him would then take the step. Dominic descended the stairs and stood facing Edea and Zell.

"I had not expected this" he said in a voice much deeper than his own.

"I know about your father" said Edea "When you invaded my mind I saw everything you did"

"Then why did you come?" Dominic asked

"You are very powerful Dominic" said Edea "More powerful than your father ever had been"

"No" said Dominic "He ascended into a Guardian, I am still a mere mortal"

"You're not a mortal" said Edea "You know that; you were contained in the Cursed Lamp also, weren't you?"

"No" said Dominic

"Yes, you were" said Edea "How old were you when your father was taken by the darkness? 15-16?"

"Quiet" said Dominic raising the sword

"You've been trapped in that lamp for millennia but unlike your father you didn't age" said Edea

"I told you to be quiet!" Dominic shouted.

"Please Dominic" pleaded Edea "Reverse all of this, beat your father!"

"I cannot!" Dominic said

"He froze you for almost two thousand years Dominic" said Edea "Do you want to respect a man like that?"

"He is my father" said Dominic

"You are no devil" said Edea "I've seen your soul; you are a clean spirit"

"No" said Dominic. Around him his shadow began to shimmer and shift even though he was stood still.

"Fight him Dominic!" said Edea. A gunshot rang out across the screams in the Garden. Dominic put a single hand over his wound in his chest and looked around. Jessie was stood there shaking; her hands held that silver pistol. Tears were spilling down Jessie's face. Dominic fell over but his shadow remained in its place; as though Dominic were still stood upright. From the shadow a large being rose.

Diablos hovered in mid air facing Jessie.

"You are daring" he said and raised his hand "But how strong are you?" Jessie fired at him but caused no damage. Diablos smiled and fired his gravity attack which crashed into Jessie and knocked her backwards against the wall. Diablos smiled and turned to Edea

"Who would have guessed that my son; my vile son, tainted by human genetics, would bring about my second era?" Diablos said.

"Your son is better than you" said Edea straightening up "He will kill you"

"If his companion had not killed him they maybe he would have" said Diablos "But he was always just a polluted half being; not a full demon and not a full human"

"He has the best of both" said Edea "He is greater than you ever will be"

"Greater that a sorceress also" said Diablos "Or a past sorceress" Edea raised her hand to fire an attack but Diablos was faster. He blinked and sent Edea crashing into Zell and they both slammed into a concrete bench. Diablos laughed and floated forwards to kill Edea.

"Dominic" Jessie cried as she held his hand and kissed it "I'm sorry" she wept. In his mind, where he was trapped, Dominic could hear her voice which sang out in the darkness. He tried to get back in control but Diablos, his father, had killed any control he had over his own body. Diablos had not left him completely a small amount; the part which was stopping Dominic from being in control, was still inside him but Dominic could not overpower it. Jessie hugged him close. Jessie felt something press against her thigh. It was uncomfortable and so she had to move it. Jessie saw that it was the summoning crystal Edea had given to her; _Give it to him_ she remembered Edea saying to her.

For a second Edea had been in control before Diablos had controlled her and she had given Jessie the crystal.

Jessie put it in Dominic's hand

"There" she whispered in his ear "You have the crystal; please help us"

Diablos screamed inside Dominic's head as he was ripped away and trapped inside the crystal. Jessie gasped as Dominic jumped to his feet. The bullet hole had healed fully and he was ready to face his fear, face his darkness; face his father.

Diablos turned to face his son

"I thought you were dead" said Diablos

"I am your son" said Dominic "Give me some credit" Jessie saw that Dominic's shadow was increasing in size. Jessie scrabbled away from it as it widened.

"Come here son" said Diablos "Come rule by my side"

"I don't want to rule" said Dominic "I want to live a normal life"

"You can't have a normal life" said Diablos "You are not a normal child"

"You are right" said Dominic summoning all his dark thoughts and combining them inside his shadow which was sucked into his palm

"I am greater than a normal person" he said "In fact" he raised his hand "I'm greater than you, right father?" Diablos did not even had time to roar in fear before his son annihilated every last trace of him using the darkness he had inherited. All people present covered their eyes as red, white, yellow and purple flashes of light lit up the Garden. A sonic boom rang out and destroyed all the windows in the Garden. Edea removed her hand from her eyes and looked up to see Diablos being turned into smoke and then being siphoned into nothingness.

Squall gasped and dragged himself back to his feet. All around him glass was scattered. Squall put his hand on his chest; the place where Dominic had stabbed him and killed him. Squall walked over to the elevator and opened it. Inside Rinoa was laid against the side wall. The young woman was alive but unconscious. Squall put his hand on her cheek

"Rinoa?" he said. Slowly Rinoa opened her eyes

"What's going on?" she asked softly. Squall helped her to her feet

"I don't know" he said. Everything was silent in the Garden. Far below them the engines had stopped turning; the Garden had stopped. Edea looked around and saw that time itself had come to a stop. Glass floated in mid air and bits of stone, sent flying by the explosion were suspended in time. At the heart of it all Dominic was stood looking around at everyone. Quistis was dragging herself to her feet as were many of the students around the Garden.

Squall emerged from the elevator and looked down at Dominic who looked back at him.

"What happened?" Squall asked

"Diablos" said Edea "He tried to get back onto this plain of existence through Dominic"

"How?" Squall asked as he descended the stairs "How is that even possible"

"He is my father" said Dominic "He had control over me"

"I don't think you should stay, Dominic" said Squall "After you killed two of the students and attacked all the others; I don't think any of them can ever trust you, I don't think I'll ever be able to trust you"

"Sir" said a SeeD "I saw it; I saw everything" he looked a bit uncomfortable but continued "When he killed Diablos, I saw it all inside my head"

"Same here" said a few of the other students gathered around

"How?" Squall asked

"I think it was some of Diablos' psychic powers" said Edea "He was a powerful GF, maybe with the surge of released energy it brought everyone back to life, healed all the wounds, stopped time but most importantly showed people what happened"

"I'm sorry Dominic" said Squall "But whatever the reason you still were responsible, if only partly, for the deaths of two students, I am going to have to expel you" Squall had thought it was the right thing to do. Suddenly there was an outcry from the pupils around them

"What?" one shouted "He's a hero! He killed his own father to protect everything!"

"He saved us after his father tried killing us!" another said

"This is unfair" said another angrily.

"He should be rewarded not banished" said another. Squall stood there completely silent while contemplating what to do; the students wanted him to stay yet Squall was unsure of having him here.

"What do you want Dominic?" Squall asked him.

"I would like to stay" said Dominic "If that is alright?"

"I guess so" said Squall "You have your colleagues on your side, after all"

"I just have one last thing to do" said Dominic. Flames curled themselves up the arms of his jacket slowly. Seconds later the entire coat was on fire. His sword melted in his hand as his jacket turned to ash and fell to the floor. Dominic wiped some remaining ash off his shoulder before turning his head to the heavens. With a wave of his hand everything began to go in reverse.

The glass that littered the floor recombined in it's original place to make full windows, stone's congregated to recreate the benches they had originally been. Pools of blood vanished from sight and any sort of fatigue vanished from all the students. With a crack like that of a whip time continued and the Garden continued to move.

"Impressive" said Squall "Now what of your father?" Dominic removed something from behind his back; it was a vase.

"I think he'll look good on my mantelpiece in Dollet" said Dominic. Jessie laughed as she linked his arm

"You really have your father in there?" Jessie asked

"No" said Dominic "He _is _the vase" Jessie laughed. "So what happens next?" Dominic asked Squall

"We need to stop so that Edea can get back on her ship, then we're going back to Balamb" said Squall.

"I mean with me" said Dominic

"You go back to being a student" said Squall "I would say no more getting into trouble but seeing who your father is I guess you can't avoid it" Dominic laughed

"Fancy a vase?" Dominic asked him. Squall seemed alarmed at the idea of having Diablos as a mantle ornament

"Keep it" said Squall "Not my type of antique"

People were told to return to their rooms until they arrived back in Balamb. Dominic lay on his bed with Jessie at his side

"That was pretty impressive what you did back there" said Jessie

"I couldn't have done it without you" he said "And this" he removed the summoning crystal from his pocket. It was now jet black

"What's in that?" Jessie asked

"Another bit of my father" said Dominic "His mental state, the vase is just his body"

"Cool" said Jessie looking at it. Dominic put the crystal on his desk and then got back onto the bed next to his best friend.

"So what adventures await us next week?" Jessie asked Dominic

"How about Ifrit?" he asked. Jessie smiled

"That sounds like a plan" she said with a smile and hugged her best friend.


	11. Epilogue

Dominic and Jessie both passed their SeeD examinations with some of the highest marks in the history of any Garden. Dominic went on to become a specialist in magic and fiends of all kinds.

Jessie became an instructor at Balamb Garden but now and then she would travel with Dominic as he sought out ancient monsters and cracked phenomenally ancient puzzles in order to find more powerful magic's.

All in all it was quite an adventure for the two students who retained the title as the greatest SeeD in the history of Garden.


End file.
